DAVAO CITY, Philippines – The City Government of Davao has re-imposed the mandatory RT-PCR testing for incoming passengers in the Davao International Airport, one of the city’s efforts to prevent the “second wave” of the resurgence of COVID-19 cases in the country.
As the country sees a spike of new cases not lower than 5,000 every day, Davao City Mayor Sara Duterte said they are committed to enforcing surveillance, monitoring, and testing to prevent the resurgence of cases in the city.
“As Davao City Covid-19 case increases, we now become a source to nearby provinces in the region and Mindanao due to the exchange of people,” she said.
The mayor said during her program in DCDR Disaster Radio Monday that they are re-imposing the mandatory testing for airline passengers as based on the Davao City Ordinance 0477-21, Series of 2021, where passengers should present their RT-PCR test results showing that they are coronavirus (Covid-19) free.
In case when passengers arrive at the airport without the negative PCR result, they will have to shoulder the P4,500 payment for the testing provided by One World Diagnostic Center.
Duterte said that the city will also implement aggressive surveillance in communities and review the contact tracing process, as she noted this has been a challenge in the past months due to delays in identifying the contacts.
She said that during surveillance, teams will seek individuals with influenza-like symptoms and subject them to RT-PCR testing.
The mayor said they are also preparing for equipment and facilities in case of the next surge.
“Our temporary treatment and monitoring facilities are on standby. We also have to fast track the request made by the Regional Department of Health in the procurement of personal protective and medical equipment to private hospitals in the City from the Disaster Fund,” she said.
The mayor also said that the delivery of the 30,000 vaccines acquired by the City Government from AstraZeneca is expected to arrive in the third quarter of this year in addition to the vaccines allocated by the IATF for Davao expected at the end of the month.
As of March 22, the Philippines has recorded 8,019 confirmed COVID-19 cases, the highest in a single-day case count. Davao Region has 828 active cases. (davaotoday.com)
